Not Another Teen Story
by dreamcatcherxx
Summary: Modern AU Morgana is the  princess of England Now, she's lived in luxury all her life not having a care in the world. But her world gets thrown upside down when an attractive blue eyes boy comes back into her life. REVISED! Merlin/Morgana Morgause/OC
1. Chapter 1

**So to say the least I'm slightly addicted to the Merlin/Morgana couple and I was reading some other stories and I came across one with a modern version of Merlin. I highly enjoyed the idea so decided to start one of my own. Granted it's probably going to get slightly complicated but you guys will probably work it out, or I will just have to do a really good explanation. Damn. Well anyway hope you like it. **

**Oh and as much as I want to, I do not own Merlin**

"_I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride" a little girl with curly brown hair announced to an almost empty playground. _

"_Ew Gwen that's gross" a small raven haired girl cried holding hands with a skinny blue eyed boy. _

"_Yeah Gwen really, it's gross enough that they are ganna get married someday, I don't get why we're doing it now" a blonde headed boy complained as he hung upside down from the monkey bars_

"_We're practicing" the blue eyed boy declared, a blush rising to his cheeks, but thankfully no one noticed, well except the girl who's hands he was holding. _

"_Yeah Arthur we're _practicing_, gosh!" the girl chided her brother_

"_Whatever Morgana, it's Merlin's funeral, I don't envy him at all being married to _you_" Arthur retorted_

"_Your mean" she wined sticking out her tongue at him_

"_Don't worry about him" Merlin said making Morgana turn back to him "I can't wait to marry you" _

_Now it was Morgana's turn to blush "you mean it?"_

_Merlin nodded giving her a goofy smirk that she could do nothing but smile back at_

"Morgana?"

"Morgana!"

"Huh what?" Morgana broke out of her daydream as she looked up at her best friend

"Gees Morgana you sure are spacey today" Gwen commented as Morgana kept staring out at the rain. It had been dreary all week and they were sitting at their favorite café. Thankfully because the weather was so bloody terrible the paparazzi decided to stay in their little holes. They had been stalking them every time they went outside ever since Gwen and Arthur announced their engagement last Friday. They were discussing the wedding plans which caused the whole flashback scene before. It had been almost eighteen years since then…

Oh yeah I forgot the whole explanation portion of this story so I suppose I'll just start now. Our adorable little sorcerer that all of you remember is the Crown Prince of Ireland and had been previously engaged to the lovely Morgana who is, surprise, surprise the Princess of England (I'm not sure if that's a proper title but just go with it). Granted I am eliminating all the current Monarchs and replacing them with our lovely bunch because, this is in fact a story, just in case you were wondering.

Ok moving on, so in previous years, the kingdoms of England and Ireland have lived in peace, allies really. And to sustain that friendship, Merlin and Morgana were decided to be married when they became of age. So they would meet every summer in the hopes that affection would prosper between the two. Obviously that wasn't very difficult from the flashback Morgana was just having, and the future was looking rather bright. But everything changed when England's Queen grew gravely ill. And a year later when the children were only ten years of age, the Queen died.

Enraged by grief, the king of England blamed magic for not being able to heal his sick wife, even though he had been told countless times that even magic could not cure her. The King then banned magic and because the Irish Kingdom openly practiced magic, King Uther declared war on Ireland as well. So of course the engagement was called off and the children had not seen each other since.

Oh I should also mention Gwen. Gwen was born in Ireland and lived a considerable amount of time there in the first years of her life. This is also why she was originally best friends with Merlin and how she could come to England so often, because Merlin would bring her with him. But when Uther declared war on Ireland, she was stuck there and Gwen didn't see Morgana and Arthur for years. But, when Gwen's parents died when she was fifteen, she moved to England to live with her family as she finished the rest of her schooling.

It was then that she reunited with her childhood friends. Soon after Arthur and Gwen stated dating and the rest was history. And you may be wondering why I am telling you all of this now, but it will become important later on. But, bringing us to where we are now. God that took forever I should really try and shorten those. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've covered everything and if I didn't well, deal. No I'll probably explain it later but I suppose we should continue the story, so where was I, oh right…

"Geez Morgana you sure are spacey today" Gwen commented

"I know I'm sorry, I've had a lot on my mind lately" Morgana replied, sighing.

"Is it because of him?" Gwen asked giving her a sympathetic look

"No, Alvarr and I broke up like a week ago and I really couldn't care less" Morgana told her. Morgana had been dating Alvarr for a couple months but she dumped his arse for being a lying cheating bastard. It took all the power in the world to stop Arthur from beating his face in.

Gwen grinned "That's the spirit, then what's on your mind?"

Morgana opened her mouth like she was about to say something but quickly closed it "It's nothing really"

Gwen gave her a knowing look before deciding to let it go. Suddenly Morgana's mobile buzzed and she took it out to read the text.

"My father wants to discuss something with me and Arthur" she told her "we should go"

So after paying for the check they got in the car and left, thanking God that no one had recognized them on one of the rare occasions where they were able to get out of the palace, and headed toward the place they called home.

When they got there the King was waiting for his children in his study. Morgana got there first and they were joined shortly after by an Arthur covered in mud.

"You were practicing out in the rain? It's buckets out there" she gestured toward the window, scolding her brother's complete stupidity.

"The Winfield Cup is in two weeks Morgana we need to practice" Arthur retorted

Morgana rolled her eyes before her father spoke up "Alright you two, but the cup is actually wanted to talk to you about"

Morgana and Arthur turned to Uther, puzzled.

"During the Cup, King Balinor and I have decided to come to a brief time of peace to celebrate the cup's 40th anniversary" Uther informed them "they will also be staying at the palace during their visit"

"Why?" Arthur asked confused "you despise that family"

"Our war with Ireland has gone on for too long and with the growing threat from Germany on the eastern border it is necessary to come to a diplomatic solution to avoid any more bloodshed" Uther replied "and I do not _despise_ the family, we were once great allies"

"Well that certainly changed didn't it" Morgana said bitterly

"Morgana" Uther gave her a warning look."Well you be pleased to know that your sisters will be part of the party coming to join us"

Morgana's face lit up "Really?"

Uther nodded and smiled at Morgana as she jumped up and down with excitement before wrapping her arms around her father and giving him a kiss on the cheek while Arthur rolled his eyes. Daddy's little girl. Uther had always been sweet on her; he always tended to spoil her. With that in mind, it also made her a bit guilty. He would always be honest with her- even if it wasn't exactly the best course of action- while she constantly lied to him. But she couldn't tell him. She could never tell him. "Oh thank you thank you thank you I love you SO much!" she squealed

"But that also means you have to be on your best behavior when we greet the Irish dignitaries" Uther said

"When am I not?"

Arthur snorted earning him a glare from Morgana

"Oh and Arthur" Uther s interjected their stares "I expect you to beat those damn Irishmen into the ground, the Prince is on their team and I heard he's quite good"

Arthur scoffed "I'll crush him" he declared with a new fire in his eyes.

Now Morgana rolled her eyes. Arthur was always so competitive whish was quite amusing at times. Example, right now

**Read x Review please**


	2. Chapter 2

The two weeks had frown by and Morgana's sisters were arriving a day before the King and his son. Morgana waited in nervous anticipation as a black town car pulled up to the palace's main entrance. Elaine was the first to step out with Morgause right behind her and Morgana bounded over to practically jump on them.

"Morgana!" Elaine greeted getting a big hug from her sister while Morgause stood next to her waiting for her hug. After their embrace Morgana stepped back to look at them.

They looked exactly the same although Elaine did get taller, Elaine was actually younger then Morgana by one year while Arthur was more around her own age. And how that happened is way too difficult to explain right now so I'll just wait on that, anyway back to the story.

"I've missed you both so much"

"We have missed you as well, sister" Morgause said

"Come on, let's go inside" Morgana pulled her sisters into the palace. After dropping of their luggage in the guest rooms, they all joined Gwen, Arthur, and Uther in the kitchen for dinner.

Morgana was the first to enter with Morgause and Elaine trailing behind her. Uther was already situated at the table with Arthur and Gwen seated next to him.

"Morgause! Elaine!" Gwen exclaimed jumping out of her seat to hug her old friends. Remember Gwen did live in Ireland and the Cornwall family had close relations with the royal family. "Gwen it's so good to see you" Elaine told her

It was at this point that Arthur finally decided to get up and greet the two women.

"Arthur" Morgause teased before pulling him into a hug, after which Elaine did the same and they all took their seats. But not before Morgana glared at her father and mouthed 'be nice'.

Uther gave her a sideways glance but complied just the same, "Morgause, Elaine" he said in the most civil tone possible

Morgause responded in kind "Uther" while Elaine nearly nodded and they all sat down to eat together. It was awkwardly silent and only the sound of clattering plated could be heard until Elaine spoke up

"Oh I forgot to tell you, congratulations on your engagement"

Morgause snapped her head up from her food "you two got engaged?"

"Right, you've been living in a hole for the past two years" Elaine commented

Morgause rolled her eyes "It wasn't a hole, they just don't have many teles in...Africa"

"Africa?" Gwen asked

"Oh yes I never got to ask you how your trip was" Morgana chimed

Morgause mentally kicked herself. Great. Now she would have to elaborate on her clever little lie. Thanks Elaine.

She glared at her sister before answering; thankfully she had been prepared for this type of situation

"Yes, I've spent the past year in South Africa helping with the epidemic of typhoid fever as well as other countries along the border, it was great fun"

"That must have been a... interesting experience" Arthur said choosing his words carefully

"Oh it was, well excepts for the part about getting shot at by Liberian gorillas but other than that it was incredible, I really do want to do it aging someday" she told them with a wide smile. That wasn't a total lie, she did get shot at and sometimes it was by gorillas, they just weren't Liberian ones.

"So is that how you got assigned to the Balinor's protection detail?" Uther asked abruptly

"Protection detail?" Morgana queried

Elaine answered this time "The King had a sort of… special faith in Morgause and I, well that and the fact that we're the best fighters in the kingdom"

Arthur almost chocked on his water, after collecting himself he fought out "The best fighters in the kingdom, you two?"

"Now Arthur, you should know better than to underestimate us" Morgause chided playfully

"Remember, Morgana has beaten you in a fight too" Uther mentioned

"Yes that's right, and if I don't recall, you cried as well" Morgana added

"I told you I had something in my eye!" Arthur shot back trying and failing to heal his wounded pride.

Everyone broke out in laughter at Arthur's frustrated exterior. It was defiantly going to be an interesting couple of days.

The next day everyone waited in the throne room for the Irish royal family to arrive. Morgana had put on her most suitable dress and plastered on her most polite smile. To say she was reluctant to meet the king and crown prince would he a slight understatement. After all the bad blood between their families, it was somewhat hard to be civil with these people but she would muster it, for her sister's sake. That and her father would probably kill her if she didn't. And Morgause Elaine and Gwen all said that these people were nice so she figured she would at least give it a chance.

King Balinor entered the throne room accompanied by several guards.

"King Balinor, welcome to our beloved home." Uther greeted in the most amount of fake enthusiastic Morgana had ever heard from her father's voice.

"Uther, it is a pleasure to be here" Balinor replied shaking Uther's hand. Morgana's evaluation of the man was limited to his face. He looked about the same age as her father but with longer hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a black suit and blue shirt, the normal business attire. He seemed to be a rather kind looking individual, not at all as she had imagined.

"May I present my daughter, Morgana" Uther gestured to her, "my son Arthur and his future wife Guinevere" They all bowed to the visiting royal.

"It's very nice to see you all again, you have grown so much over the years" Balinor commented

Gwen was smiling very wide at the King. Morgause and Elaine then stepped forward and bowed to King Balinor "Sire" they both chimed at once.

"Gwen, it has been too long, Hunith sends her best" Balinor told Gwen

Gwen's smile stretched from ear "Thank you sire"

"Where is your son?" Uther asked puzzled at the absence of the crown prince

"He had to attend to some issues in Ireland and will be arriving later today" Balinor informed them

The English royal family did their best hide the suspicion that was creeping on to their faces, but like a silent pact, they decided to brush it off now and deal with it later. Plus, they did remember the boy as a child and he was not the type to be very cunning, no matter how much time has gone by.

After the greetings, Morgause and Elaine were asked to meet with the two kings to discuss a private matter. Even though it left Morgana in a great state of confusion, she would just ask her sisters about it later. They were not one's to keep secrets, especially from her. Or at least that's what she thought. But regardless, with Gwen and Arthur meeting with wedding planner, her afternoon was left wide open. So, she decided to take a stroll around the grounds.

She was making her way around the corner of the castle, when she smashed into another person with such velocity that they both fell to the ground.

"Ouch"

"I am so sorry! Are you alright?" a males' voice called out he jumped to his feet and went to help her up.

"Yeah I'm alright, and it was my fault I didn't see where I was going" Morgana replied brushing the dirt off her jeans. She decided to change into something more comfortable, so, determining that with her luck she would most likely find herself in a fountain like the three other times she decided to tour the castle alone, she went with a white tank top, black skinny jeans and converse. Obviously, changing into casual wear was a good idea.

After she was done brushing herself off, she looked up at the man she had absentmindedly collided with and couldn't help but stare at his pure adorableness. He had shaggy black hair with a pale complexion, sharp cheek bones and a goofy lopsided smile. But what really got her was his eyes, a gorgeous cobalt blue that felt strangely familiar like she had seen them somewhere before. He was wearing jeans and a navy blue t-shirt that matched his eyes. It annoyed her that she couldn't figure out where she had seen his eyes before, and, being the stubborn person that she was, eagerly wished to find out.

And of course while she was thinking about this she had completely dismissed the fact that they had stayed in an awkward silence for a good two minutes.

His soft voice broke her out of her thoughts "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked again slightly worried that she had been permanently mentally damaged by their collision.

Realizing how she must look she shook out of the daze she was in and answered him "yeah sorry I wasn't looking where I was going, so… do you come around here often" she wanted to kick herself from what she said, it sounded like one of those cheesy pick up line that blokes had tried to use on her when she went out, he must think her a total freak now.

"No I just got here, but the grounds were just so cool I had to explore them" he told her "do you?"

"Do what?"

He laughed "Live around here?"

She smiled knowingly "Yeah you could say that"

"I have to say I'm somewhat surprised that the king allows anyone to wander the palace" Morgana stared at him completely taken aback by his comment. She had never met anyone who did not know who she was before, and she found that she rather liked it. Someone that wouldn't pretend around her because of her title so she decided just to go along with it.

"Yes, the king likes to keep in touch with the people"

He thought for a moment "hmm I never really thought of the king as that type of person"

He wasn't "Yeah well..." she trailed off there was an awkward silence before he finally spoke up, hoping that he would change the subject, which he did.

"So do you like to take walks a lot?" he asked lightly

She nodded "But my mind tends to wonder off when I do"

He nodded in understanding "I get that, I do it all the time. My girlfriend would always get so annoyed with me for it"

Morgana's smile faltered when he said this "You have a girlfriend?"

"I used to, we broke up about a couple months ago" He told her. She couldn't help the smile that played on her lips

"Yeah my boyfriend and I split up about a week ago, but I'm not that broken up about it" she commented

He furrowed is brown in such an adorable way that she just wanted to scream "Really why's that?"

She sighed " He cheated on me, had been for a while" she confessed. She didn't much like to talk about it and had no idea why she was talking about such a personal matter with a complete stranger but for some reason she felt like she could tell him.

"That's shit, I'm really sorry. But the sod must be the biggest idiot on the planet" He said nonchalantly

"Why's that?"

"Because any guy that would cheat on someone as beautiful as you is either a total wanker or mentally ill" he stated matter-of-factly

She felt her cheeks go red hot as she dipped her head in embarrassment. That was another thing that bewildered her about him. Loads of men commented on her beauty, hell she was even asked to model several times during fashion week because so many people had noticed her stunning physique. But for some reason when he said it, she felt the urge to blush like a school girl.

"Well thank you, so what about you? You're girlfriend didn't cheat on you did she?"

He laughed mirthlessly "No she didn't, but she broke up with me to date this other bloke that's still getting over his old girlfriend" he told her

"How do you know that?"

"Oh well the guy's kind of my best friend"

Morgana eyebrows rose "Sounds like a quality gent" she commented

"Nah he's not really that bad, he's only dating my ex to make his jealous"

"And that makes him not bad" she retorted

"Well his old girlfriend kind of just left for a while, without calling him or anything, I mean she couldn't anyway but still one day she was here and the next she was just gone, and he never saw or spoke to her for two years" he explained

"Oh wow, now that really sucks, but still he shouldn't be dating you're ex just to get back at his" she said

"Yeah but... I don't know..." he trailed off

She scoffed "You're just too nice a lad"

"Well thanks but I'm not that great"

"You could have fooled me"

This time he blushed then something occurred to him "Hey how do know, you don't even know my name"

She smiled bashfully "Well then tell me it"

"Alright , my name's-"

"Morgana!" Uther's secretary Sophia called out from across the garden "your fathers been looking for you"

Morgana let out an exasperated breath and shook her head at the woman's untimely interruption.

"Morgana?"She turned to him nodding "I use to know someone with that name, I'm Merlin"

"It's nice to meet you Merlin" she greeted formally, holder out her hand which he shook

"It's nice to meet you too, Morgana"

Morgana was reluctant to leave her new...friend but it couldn't be helped. When her father wanted her, she was obligated to go.

She met her father in his studies and to her surprise; King Balinor was there as well.

"Father, you asked to see me" she said trying to hide the suspicion in her voice

Uther looked up from his desk, "ah Morgana yes, the Crown Prince has arrived and I would like you to personally escort him while he's here, the first match is tomorrow and he needs to prepare.

Morgana fought the urge to roll her eyes. She could hardly refuse or even put up a fight of the task in front of the man's father so she just nodded. Uther gestured for the doors to be open. She felt like she got the wind knocked out of her when her eyes landed on the familiar blue eyed man entering the room.

"Merlin?"

"Morgana?"

**AN: So chapter two done. I'm working on chapter three which is surprisingly easier then I thought. Although because of the five concerts I have this week I'm going to be slightly tied up but I'll manage somehow… I think. But anyway I'll try to update soon. Thanks for all my reviews. Love you guys. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I had meant to have this out way earlier but this week has been hellish. They end of the year really sucks before finals but what can you do. So I just wanted to thank all my awesome readers you guys are great and thanks for all the support on this story, it really appreciate it. **

_"Father, you asked to see me" she said trying to hide the suspicion in her voice_

_Uther looked up from his desk, "ah Morgana yes, the Crown Prince has arrived and I would like you to personally escort him while he's here, the first match is tomorrow and he needs to prepare._

_Morgana fought the urge to roll her eyes. She could hardly refuse or even put up a fight of the task in front of the man's father so she just nodded. Uther gestured for the doors to be open and a familiar blue eyes man entered the room._

_"Merlin?"_

_"Morgana?"_

"So I take it you two have met" Balinor mentioned

Morgana and Merlin just stared at each other dumbfounded their mouths in firm 'o' shapes.

"Technically they are simply seeing each other again sense they first met when they were about six, during their engagement" Uther commented

"Excuse me?" Morgana snapped her head toward her father

"I thought you looked familiar, you're the girl that I was suppose to marry" Merlin stated, now actually appraising her looks as she had done to him before. How dare he? And more importantly, did he like what he was seeing?

"Marriage" she repeated "We we're supposed to marry" she gestured to the two of them trying to contemplate the information she had just been given.

He nodded then showed that goofy grin that she loved so much. She cursed herself for finding that she was upset that they weren't still engaged. Why was that again? Oh yeah that damn war, stupid dad.

"Morgana while he's here I want you to show him around, make sure he doesn't get lost and all" Morgana could hear the subtext of his statement and rolled her eyes.

"Cheers, could you lead me to the pitch? I think my guys are already warming up there" Merlin asked. Her father had offered them to the Irish team as another sign of peace- although her father probably detested the idea of Irishmen on English fields-god how much she hated hypocrisy.

Morgana nodded and turned towards the door "Sure this way"

The pitches were on the far side of the palace right next to the stables so they had a bit of a walk but neither of them had been complaining. For Morgana, it was giving her some more time alone with her mysterious new friend. He didn't really seem much like royalty. Yeah he was polite and a complete gentleman but he was just so much more down to earth then even some of the nobility she would come across. He was like a commoner trapped in the form of a prince. But there was still something about him that was…different, like there was more to him then just his title, like there was something he was hiding, something that he didn't want anyone to know. And the only reason she could recognize that was because she did the exact same thing.

He followed her out the door and it was only till they actually exited the building when she realized how close he was walking next to her. She glanced at his hand swinging at his side and had the sudden urge to hold it. Or course she didn't because that would be weird, but she liked the idea of having his long slender fingers entwined in hers. She looked back up at him to take in his features, the sunlight bouncing off his pale complexion as he smiled at his surroundings. He then noticed her staring at him and she quickly turned away so he wouldn't see her blush.

She had never felt this way about a guy before, or at least not so quickly after they had just met, but technically this was not their first time meeting so... Anyway, she studied the way he was looking at her and found her blush even more then she had before.

"So you're the crown prince of Ireland, I have to say you're not what I expected" she stated trying to cover her moment of embarrassment

"What were you expecting some rough and tough safe the world kind of bloke" he retorted

She laughed "Something like that, you just don't seem like the typical royal"

"Well is that a good thing?"He asked coyly

"Oh defiantly, god if I ever meet another overconfident air-headed prince I might scream. I already have enough trouble living with one"

He smiled "I think you're lucky, I don't have any sibling. It's kind of lonely, growing up by yourself."

"Well you have your parent's right?"

"Yeah and their great, the best parents anyone could ask for. But they're still the King and Queen. And as such, they only have so much time they can spend with their son" he sighed. It was incredible. They were exactly the same. Growing up, Uther tried his best to be a hands on parent even after Igraine had died, but he was still king and he still had the duties to his people, not only his children. She didn't get to see her family nearly as much as she wanted to, well except for Arthur.

"Me too, our father never really had time for us as children so we would make do with what we had together. And gods were we terrible. I swear I think the nannies of England have a hate poster of us somewhere, we were the worst children EVER" she told him animatedly

He laughed lightly "Oh I'm sure you couldn't have been that bad. Well Arthur, but certainly not you"

"No your right I was better than Arthur but not by much. I was still one nasty child." She looked over to see him shaking his head in amusement "but what about you huh? How was _your _childhood?" she asked nudging him slightly in the shoulder.

He shrugged "Pretty much the same as yours, although I didn't terrorize my nannies like you did. I spent most of my time with Gwen and Elyan growing up" (Elyan is Gwen's older brother just in case you guys didn't know, he stayed in Ireland when Gwen moved and became one of the Kings Brigadier Generals for his experience in the war)

Morgana's brow furrowed "Gwen? My Gwen?" because she conveniently didn't know this little bit of information

"Yeah, she was my best mate when we were kids, still is to be truthful. She's here isn't she? I heard that she was friends with Arthur now." He stated.

Morgana stared at him for a moment contemplating what to say "Yeah she's here and she's _my_ best friend. She's _engaged_ to Arthur."

Merlin stopped abruptly to stare at her completely god-smacked. "Engaged? She's engaged." He repeated which she nodded at in confirmation. "To Arthur?" she nodded again while he stared at her with a newly disgusted look on his face. "I'm ganna kill her" he said shaking his head as they continued walking.

She smiled at this. "Don't worry, my brother's not as bad as he seems. Well actually he is, but not when he's around Gwen. It's really kind of sweet the way he treats her."

"Well he better treat her right of all punch his face in." he growled through gritted teeth.

"Oh please do I would love to see that, I would pay you to see that" they chuckled a bit before she continued "but hey, now I don't have to feel like the third wheel anymore."

"Yeah you've got me to share the awkwardness" he agreed

"Exactly!"

When they finally made it to the fields, Elaine was already out there talking to one of the better looking footballers. He was a well built man with dark eyes and brown hair that was jelled into a fro-hawk with a scruffy chin.

"Oi Gwaine, stop flirting with your girlfriend and get back to practice, we got 21 hours until our first game of the cup and I'd really like not to loose on the first day" Merlin yelled as they approached

Gwaine rolled his eyes "Oh get over it Merlin, your hardly one to talk" he gestured to Morgana, only making her blush, again! She had really got to get a handle on that.

Now Merlin rolled his eyes "Just go, we have a lot of work to do"

"Yes I suppose you do, it would really suck if I didn't get another chance to beat your arse" Arthur called out as he approached holding Gwen's hand.

"Arthur you really never change, it's a complete wonder how your able to control that pratness of yours, oh wait you can't" Merlin said and Morgana couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips

"Merlin" Gwen gave him a playful warning before letting go of Arthur's hand to practically jump on Merlin giving him a tight hug. Morgana saw Arthur twitch and couldn't help smile at her brother's irrational jealousy, even though she also found herself slightly annoyed as well.

When they broke apart Merlin gave Gwen an incredulous look. "I've got a bone to pick with you." He said glancing at Arthur. She followed his gaze and immediately got what he meant.

"Yeahhh"

"Yeah" he nodded sarcastically "You seemed to have conveniently left that out in our last conversation"

"Well I was ganna tell you in person but I guess _somebody_ beat me to it" she said gesturing to Morgana who just shrugged and gave a 'how the hell was I supposed to know' look.

"Well anyway, congratulations, oh and Arthur" he said turning to the blonde haired prince "If you break her heart, I'll break your neck"

Arthur nodded "Yeah Elyan said the same thing"

They all laughed for a moment before Elaine spoke up."Ugh! Merlin what took you so long to get here?" she huffed

"Sorry I had to deal with Harry, he broke his knee yesterday and was convinced he could still play, when I said that was impossible even _with_ healers, he finally gave in and stayed behind" Merlin explained

"Wow that really is some shit" Gwaine mentioned, grabbing Elaine's hand

Morgana, noticing this, gave her sister a bemused look "Wait so you two really are together" she said although it sounded more like a question then a statement

Elaine nodded "Morgana this is my boyfriend Gwaine, Gwaine this is my sister Morgana"

"Sister? Wait, you're related to those two too", Merlin gestured to Elaine and a suspiciously absent Morgause. Morgana nodded in bewilderment and Merlin let out a dramatic breath "God help me"

They all laughed at Merlin's remark, except Morgana who narrowed her eyes and kept a playful scowl across her face "Shut up"

The next day was the Irish team's first match against another from Liverpool. Morgana and Gwen took their seats next to Morgause, Elaine, and Arthur; I'll let you guess who sat next to whom. Gwen, who had forced Arthur to come, was watching the game intently while Morgana small talked with Morgause and Elaine that was until Merlin was put in. Then her attention dramatically shifted. Even though he was captain and probably the best player on the team, he was put in the second half just in case the rest of the team needed a helping hand. Their team was down by one, but immediately after Merlin got the ball, he scored tying them up. It was a real nail-biter after that, and by that I mean that the other team didn't stand a chance. The final score was 7 to 2. It was actually rather pathetic. It was like that for all their other games until Merlin's team was finally up against Arthur's. It would be the game of the century.

Morgana met with Merlin for lunch the day before just like they had after every match, people could call those dates but they just called it friendly outings with a good...friend. Yeah right okay then...

"So tomorrow's match is supposed to be intense, nervous?" Morgana asked playfully

Merlin rolled his eyes shaking his head "I think Arthur likes to think I am, but we all know about his deranged fantasies"

Morgana laughed at this "He does tend to have a lot of those" she added

"I don't know how Gwen puts up with him"

"It's just one of those great mysteries of the world that normal people like us will never truly understand"

Merlin's brow furrowed "Who say's I'm normal?"

They both laughed again. There was a moment of comfortable silence until Morgana voiced a question that had been eating at her since he had arrived in England "You have magic right?"

Merlin looked up from his plate and raised an eyebrow "Yeah?"

"Oh I was just... wondering" she said trying to hide the apprehensiveness in her voice

"You know contrary to people's belief magic isn't as bad as people think" he stated abruptly

Morgana stared at him slightly taken aback by the fact that he was able to read her mind. Jedi mind trick much. She sighed "I've always been raised to believe that magic was this powerful awful force that's sole purpose was to cause death and destruction"

All he could do was laugh at the ridiculousness of that statement "Magic isn't good or bad, it just is. Yes it can be used to harm people just like any other weapon, but it can also be able to help people as well."

"I just don't know what to believe anymore. I've seen it be used to harm so many innocent- and not-so-innocent- people. That's why I've always considered it as something bad" she confessed

"Well hey, do I look bad to you?" he asked grabbing her hand. She could feel his warmth pass into her. It felt so good that she never wanted to let it go, let him go.

She laughed as she glanced and their clasped hands "No you don't...but, hey, what stopping you from using your magic during the match?"

He lifted up his sleeve to reveal a plastic band with a red light blinking in the center of it. "All of the players that are in the cup have to wear it, this band blocks me from using my magic while I'm here, it was one of your father's stipulations for competing."

"Looks a great deal uncomfortable" she commented.

"You get use to it after a while and anyway, if any of us takes it off a signal goes out and we would be disqualified from the cup" he explained

"Well at least I know you're actually a good footballer" she retorted

"Hell yeah, you didn't think I got these abs by sitting around did you" he said proudly patting his stomach. He didn't even notice her biting her lip and the heavy breathing as she stared at his stomach too, which she quite craftily broke out of as he looked up.

She also quite slyly laughed to cover her tracks. It's not like she could let him know that she liked him. But even with her painfully huge crush, she still liked being around him and it would be even worse if she wasn't. He was so different then all the other blokes that she dated in the past, not that they were dating or anything. But still, he was nice and sweet and funny and attractive oh so very attractive and she had this massive urges to jump across the table and kiss him. Wait what?

They chatted some more. He was so easy to talk to. He made her feel safe, like nothing could touch her. Little did she know that they were anything but.

**A/N: Chapter three done. K so I will try to have update sometime this week but you never know what could happen. I'll see what I can do. But anyway, i hope you enjoyed it and please review XXX**


	4. Chapter 4

Someone had arrived at the palace. He had been away for a while but he had finally returned. The king's director of research and court physician, Gaius, had been gone for almost six months on a mission of great importance. Being not only his chief research director, but the king's closest friend, he was the only one that could be trusted with such a severe task.

Gaius walked into the king's study and was immediately greeted by the man. "Gaius, my old friend" Uther rose from his desk to shake Gaius's hand, something he rarely did for anyone.

"Sire" Gaius bowed.

"How was your trip?" the King asked anxiously. He had been waiting for Gaius's arrival with great anticipation. This matter was highly sensitive, he couldn't have anyone knowing, not even his children. They did not need to know of such an unpleasant subject.

"Milord, there have been massive movements along the eastern border. But I have also been confirmed that they do have that item."

"So it's true then, that thing really does exist."

"I'm afraid so sire" Gaius said gravely.

"And it's in the hands of those people. God help us."

"Yes but apparently there were some complications when they were trying to procure the item"

Uther's brow knitted together, "Complications, what do you mean?"

"The item had apparently gone missing for a time before they had actually been able to attain it. Some of the people that were on the team sent to retrieve reported that there had been evidence on the item that it may have been examined before they were able to do anything with it" the man reported

"How is that possible?"

"You can thank me for that?" A woman's voice rang out as Morgause stepped out of the shadows.

Merlin was on the pitch practicing. After the lunch with he decided he needed to be practice a little more. Arthur was a prat but he was a decent footballer too. They had officially faced each other about three times in matches but they had been rivals since childhood. Even thought he had never seen Morgana until this cup, Arthur he would meet quite often at different football tournaments held around the world. Merlin had a lot of friends, but Arthur he had known since childhood and they had stayed mates even though they were from opposing countries. It still kind of irked him that they were even dating and he hadn't known about it. But he supposed that her friends didn't think he would approve their relationship. Especially because of how much he liked her last one.

Lance was a good guy and he was a really good footballer. They had been dating for mouths even after she had moved to the mainland, but long distance relationships never really worked, and Lance had said that she had been spending a lot of time with this other bloke when they were drifting apart, but he never thought it would be _Arthur_of all people. But I guess it couldn't be helped. Gwen was his best friend and he wanted her to be happy, and if that was with prince prat then so be it.

Merlin was dribbling the ball across the field when he noticed a spectator had arrived.

"Father?"

King Balinor walked over to his son with a smile showing brightly on his face. "Practicing again, you know it you do that too often you'll ware yourself out."

Merlin gave a cheek grin and began bouncing the ball on his knee, that was until he noticed his father's expression change. His face became grave which only happened when the matter was completely serious.

"What's wrong?"

Balinor took a deep breath before beginning, this was slightly an awkward subject to talk about but it had to be done "I've heard that you have been spending a great deal of time with the Princess"

Merlin gave his father an incredulous look "Well yeah, she's my guide of this place during our time here"

The Irish king shook his head "I mean more then would seem...proper."

Merlin looked down, now understanding his father's meaning "I like her father and I like to spend time with her. Is that truly so wrong?"

"No, but Merlin you have to be careful, you are treading in very dangerous waters, the press have already speculated your relationship as being more than…just friends."

Merlin paused for a moment and looked down again, not being able to meet his father's gaze, "Would that really be so bad?"

He had actually been thinking about that a lost lately. He liked Morgana, like really liked her. It was the first time he felt this way about anyone since Freya and even then it wasn't as intense as his attraction to the spirited princess. She was kind and smart and beautiful and once of the best people he had ever known. So would people really look down of them if they were to start a relationship?

Balinor sighed "Look, I understand that after everything that happened with Freya-"

"This isn't about her!" Merlin interjected quickly. He refused to believe that he would ever use Morgana as some type of rebound or vice versa. Their feelings were genuine, or at least his were, with her he could never tell. That was something else he liked about her, the ability to always surprise him "I like Morgana she's...different, she's like me"

"More then you realize" the king muttered increasing Merlin's confusion "She's Uther's daughter and things are already bad enough with him as is, I just don't want to start a war based on a bad break up. Just please remember, you have a duty to your people, not just to your heart."

And with that he left leaving the Irish prince to his thoughts.

Merlin deeply considered his father's words. If he started a relationship with Morgana it could end very well or it could end very badly. Yes he liked the princess, but did he like her enough to risk the countries safely on his own adolescent fancies. But there was also great risk in telling her no to the idea of a relationship if she liked him as much as he liked her, considering her personality.

Not to mention the little problem they were having with _that man_. From what his father had told him, Uther had not informed his children about the dangerous situation both countries were in. And the life that he led, it could put her in danger as well. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to her. But he did know that he needed to talk to her.

Morgana had been training with Elaine in the gym. Fourteen years of combat training had made her quite the expert in martial arts and six other fighting styles. Of course she also had to take ballet for just as long but that was a small price to pay. Uther insisted that she partake in at least one normal girl activity sense she was prone to do the exact opposite, but the combination of the two made her quite flexible as a happy byproduct. But unfortunately her sisters were just as skilled fighters.

Elaine was using a combination of jujutsu techniques she picked up traveling northern Asia for a time and Morgana was doing her best to block them. Unfortunately for the English princess, her younger sister also spent a great deal of time studying the human anatomy and knew every single pressure point _and _how to hit them to cause the most damage. Suffice to say the ladies of Cornwall were slightly bad ass.

That was when Merlin walked in "Wow I didn't think anyone stood a match for Elaine" he called from outside the ring.

The two stopped sparing upon hearing the man's voice.

"Well, what kind of person would I be if I got beaten by my little sister" Morgana retorted, stopping their sparing session to go over to him "what's up?"

He glanced at Elaine who was eyeing them very carefully; obviously she had notices their intimacy as well, even though it was kind of hard to miss. "Can we talk for a minute?"

She didn't know why but she was suddenly feeling very uneasy, "Sure"

They walked out of the gym and into the cool autumn breeze. The sun had already gone down by now and they were walking under the stars. Morgana was feeling slightly self-conscious. Partially because she was all sweaty and partially because she was only wearing a sports bra and soffe's, but he didn't seem to mind either of those things, which made her a mix of relived and disappointed.

After a moment of him not saying anything, she decided to ask "So... what did you want to talk about?"

Merlin sighed and continued to face forward "My father came to speak to me this afternoon, said that the press have noticed how much... time we spend with each other"

"Well I am your guide and all" she had repeated his previous argument, wow they really were alike.

He laughed slightly "That's what I told him, but apparently it was not convincing enough,"

"So what do you want to do?" she asked not really sure what he was getting at.

"I want to know if-"

He was cut off by the alarm sounding from the palace, the two looked at each other and raced to see what had happened. When they got to the palace one of the guards had told them an intruder had broken in and tried to steal something from the vault. When they got there everyone else had already arrived and there was ruble everywhere as if an explosion had gone off.

"What's happened?" Morgana looked around, her eyes finally landing on her father who wore a very sullen look on his face as he stared intently at the gaping hole in the middle of the wall where the door was supposed to be.

"Father?"

Uther turned to his daughter but kept his distraught expression "An intruder broke into the vault, but what they were looking for wasn't here"

His answer was rather vague and slightly annoyed her but her confusion overtook it, the puzzlement was displayed on her face and she opened her mouth to speak when Merlin's voice resounded instead.

"What were they looking for?" There was a seriousness to his tone that did a mix of frighten and intrigue her. It was almost like he knew what it was but was waiting for the confirmation from her father. And whatever it was clearly had him and everyone else on edge.

Uther looked from Merlin to Balinor to...Gaius? When had he arrived? "There's something I need to show you"

Morgana was worried. Her father was acting strange her sister's were acting strange her Merlin was acting strange...well not her Merlin, okay this was not the time to be thinking about this. They all met in Uther's study in front of the flat screen television his father's advisors used to show him presentations. Arthur and Morgana sat next to each other with Merlin and Gwen on either side and everyone else scattered about them. They almost felt like they were going to get a lecture on something bad they did like they were children, but the fact that Balinor, Gaius, and the two sisters were there would prove otherwise.

Uther stood next to the screen and took a deep breath before beginning "It's time that you two knew the truth about magic."

That was when Merlin stood up taking the siblings by surprise and moved to the other side of the screen, facing them. "Throughout time, there has always been a misconception about magic. People believe that magic is easy and unlimited when that is in fact very untrue."

The princess creased her brow at hr true dish type person thing-ish...Anyway. "What do you mean?"

"Have you heard that people only cautiously use about ten percent of their brain during daily life" the two siblings nodded and Arthur glanced at Gwen to see her giving him an apprehensive look in response, who obviously knew what this was about "well magic users have the ability to use all of it. But that ability doesn't come without a price."

"Merlin what are you talking about?" Arthur was slightly annoyed. What in the hell was the best mate talking about? And yes they were best mates; Arthur just doesn't like to admit it to himself even though everyone elder knows it anyway.

"Because they put so much strain on their minds, they slowly lose their ability to use it at all. That's why constant magic users only like to about thirty."

"Wait but your father is way past thirty, right? No offense" Arthur quickly tried to cover realizing how idiotic he sounded just then.

Balinor gave a hearty laugh "Yes Arthur I am past thirty, and that is because I do not possess magic."

"Wait but what about Morgause and Elaine" Morgana piped up the reality of it all kicking it as she realized that this also pertained to her sisters as well. "Morgause just turned thirty last month"

Morgause gave her younger sister a reassuring smile "I don't use my magic...ever, I have no use for it and neither does Elaine. We have far... better techniques of getting what we want." The sisters put on a knowing smirk which strangely put Morgana at ease in only the way those family could.

"That's was another reason why I banned magic" Uther spoke gaining the groups attention "Because people who use their magic know they will die young, they have no concept of human life and personal gain. That's why many of them use their powers for evil-"

"But not all" Balinor interjected trying to defend his son "Not all magic users are harmful. Some use their lives to help as many people as they can before their life comes to an end. And because those people only use their magic for a good purpose, they typically live longer than others because they know how to mediate their powers such as healers."

"Magic and science are two halts of the same coin." Merlin continued "and together they make a different type of magic called alchemy, the one that normal users practice. That is also why it's inaccurate to call what they use magic because it's not. But there are several rules to alchemy, the first being the law of equivalent exchange. To obtain, something of equal value must be given in return. That is alchemy's most important law."

"But Merlin, what about you?" she couldn't hide the concern in her voice. She didn't want her new friend to die, especially when they hadn't yet become what she wanted them to be.

Merlin stuck his tongue in his mouth deciding to choose his word carefully so as to not confuse anyone as much as they already were "I was born as something...different."

Now everyone looked confused, even Gwen which unnerved Morgana even more. If his best friend, _her best friend,_didn't even know what he was talking about, this was defiantly a more coveted secret then the true ideology of magic.

"I was born as a warlock, someone who can use the more the magic aspect of alchemy. But that's not the real reason I can use magic freely. It's really because my powers are pure magic, there is no scientific part of it because it gets converted into something else".

"Wait I'm confused" Arthur called out completely lost, he barley understood magic before and now there was this alchemy thing, his brain was hurting. "How can it be just pure magic?"

Merlin sighed, this was really more difficult to explain then he thought "Think of magic as water and science as dirt. When those two mix together they make mud which is alchemy. The less science or dirt, the less harmful it is to the user, the more science, the more harmful it is. And that is because science is a tangible energy, while magic is only something you can feel, it's more theoretical even though it exists in our world."

"So let me get this strait, because your powers are have less dirt, it doesn't harm you" Arthur asked, trying applying Merlin's weird analogy.

The Irish prince made a face thinking about how to address this "Hmmm no, warlock's do face less of the harmful effects of alchemy but they do still receive some of the repercussions of the practice, if they use it constantly. So instead of dying young, they might live to about forty-five or fifty, but it still shortens their life span. While me on the other hand, I don't face any of the repercussions of alchemy because my powers get converted into pure magic, hence the water and dirt analogy. And that is only possible because of this." Merlin lifted his shirt to reveal a shiny red stone embedded in his skin right over his heart.

Morgana was horrified and it took everything she had to force the words out of her mouth "Merlin… what is that thing?" her voice was shaky and fear racked her body at the sight of that blood colored stone.

"I was born with it, and it's the only reason I'm still alive." Merlin explained when Uther cut in.

"This is what we needed to talk to you about. Over the years, alchemists have been trying to create a way for hen to use their magic without the...harmful effects of the practice. Many have died in the search for such a device and apparently, they have finally succeeded."

The king of England clicked on the tele and the same stone appeared with several charts and an analysis of the stone." New information has come in about the discovery of this stone somewhere in the Saharan Desert."

"And these alchemists thought that we had the stone?" Arthur queried in confirmation.

Uther nodded "Yes but that was a rumor intentionally spread by some of our agents in an attempt to draw out this organization."

"It's an organization?" Morgana asked in disbelief, she had never heard of a group that was able to break into the vaults of the royal palace. As far as she knew that was impossible even with this alchemy- because she obviously wouldn't call it magic anymore, it wasn't and she had a feeling Merlin would get offended if she did- so how could they have accomplished such a suicidal task without even being seen?

Uther nodded again "this group of...terrorists have devastated the world in their attempt to find this item. I has been trying to shield you kids from this ugly business but I feel I cannot do that any longer, and this latest attack has proven such"

"Thief must have been a person that already worked here, which meant that they still do as not to avoid suspicion" Oh Arthur, always thinking about those types of things. He would make a good general of directed of a department, but unfortunately, he was just the crown prince of England. "And that person had to have a detailed idea of the palace floor-plan along with high level area to the armory to have gotten the explosives."

Gaius, who had been quiet throughout, this finally spoke "There is a traitor among us."

The truth was blunt and cruel, but it was also very accurate. To pull off something like this they would have needed to be of some importance and influence to have that type of access. This wasn't just some doubt servant this was someone they knew, trusted. And the idea of that possibility frightened them more then they could admit. Because the worst kind of enemy is the one that's right in front of your eyes.

Morgana, still having her eyes fixed on Merlin's chest, broke everyone out their thoughts "Merlin, what is that stone called?"

"The Philosophers Stone"

**A/N: Yes I used an FMA concept, don't judge it! and if you do, grr… No I really don't care but I like the idea of alchemy ever since I first watched the show and after seeing all the connections between magic and alchemy I decided to tie it into the story. Oh and if you expected this story to be just Mergana relationship stuff then you are terribly wrong. There's actually a lot of action I am just unaware of how I'm going to write it. Yeah. But anyway I also liked the idea of equivalent exchange and that will play a much bigger part later on in the story. I understand how I explained it is a bit confusing, and by a bit I mean a lot, probably because I left a lot out but it become clearer later on. I think… **

**But read x review, seriously**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I would just like to take this time to say that you guys are awesome. For all of your amazing reviews I thank you. But I've also decided to answer a few questions that some of you asked about in for the last chapter. **

**HappyAce88: Haha science and me don't get along either, just finished a chem final and I'm pretty sure I failed. But anyway, if you have more questions about alchemy just ask in the next chapter review (hint* hint*) It was sort of a bitch explaining everything but I'm hoping I made it clear enough in this chapter. **

**Elin Marc: First of all thank you for your loyal reviews, they really do help and give me ideas about what to write. The reason Merlin has the stone embedded on his heart will be made clear in future chapters, just not this one. This one is mainly the part two explanation portion of the previous chapter with Mergana of course, but the actiony bits are coming in the next chapter I promise. **

**doctor-emily001: So firstly, who saw the cliffhanger for this series of doctor who and almost died? I mean like I kind of expected the whole river thing from the beginning of the series, but the whole Amy thing and her baby, I cried. That kid was **_**adorable**_**! And Rory in the roman costume. Lol. But anyway, don't worry I don't hate you but FMA stands for Full Metal Alchemist. It's an anime on adult swim that I got into because it was right after Family Guy but anyway, its good, and if you like anime's or gory action anime's then you should check it out. It's pretty cool once you wrap your brain around the concept. Although I saw the first episode when I was like eight and had nightmares for a week. Opps, silly eight year old me. :p **

**mash-ren: Thank you 3**

_Morgana, still having her eyes fixed on Merlin's chest, broke everyone out their thoughts "Merlin, what is that stone called?"_

"The Philosophers Stone"

"The Philosophers Stone?" Arthur repeated incredulously with a raised eyebrow

Merlin nodded in confirmation "You may know it as the Sorcerer's Stone"

"Wait, I'm getting a harry potter flashback" Morgana announced "you mean that thing that grants immortality to whoever possesses it"

The young warlock nodded again "Yep the very one but it's anything but fantasy, actually the author of the series was an ex-agent of the organization moving that has been against us, I was actually surprised she wasn't killed for it but they must have figured no one would believe it because of the genre of the novel, and they probably got some of the profits from book sales"

"What about Nicolas Flamel, the creator of the stone. Was he real too?" Morgana asked still trying to grasp the fact that her soon to be boyfriend had one of those magical stones embedded over his heart.

Merlin stuck his tongue in his cheek in consideration "Not quite, there was a man a long time ago who was able to synthesis a stone but he died shortly after. His identity was never known."

"What happened to the stone?" Gwen asked this time.

"Well we can't be sure but we have reason to believe that was the stone the organization found."

"And that's bad, right?"

Merlin nodded, "Yes that's very bad, but an informant that had been in place during the past two years has been able to give us reliable information about the stone and its whereabouts. Which actually gives us the advantage, because they obviously believe we have the stone, hence the break in, also meaning that they don't."

"So then who has the stone?"

"When they tried to retrieve the stone they ran into some…complications." The four were surprised when Morgause, who had been silent the entire time, spoke up "They were unable to actually obtain the stone because it had been replaced with a fake. The real one is still missing but we now have a way to find the stone hopefully before they do."

Morgana looked at him incredulously "So this informant, who was it? Someone with such an important mission as you claim must have been a highly trusted asset so, who was it?"

Damn why did she always have to catch on to things so fast. Merlin coughed awkwardly and glanced around the room before answering "their identity needs to remain a secret, for safety purposes. If anyone were to find out their lives could be in great danger as well as the people around them."

Even though it still made her a little anxious, Morgana accepted his answer. While there were still things that she didn't understand in this world, she could however understand a person lying to people to keep them safe, she did it daily. "Has there been a team put together to recover the stone?" she asked finally gaining everyone's attention.

Merlin fidgeted uncomfortably furthering Morgana's confusion but Uther swooped in and saved him "We're working on putting together the proper team to retrieve the stone. But this is a matter of national security for both nations so the situation must be handled with the upmost delicacy."

"Wait, does that mean that this cup was just a rouse? That it was just a way for our two countries to conspire with each other without raising suspicion from the public?"

Uther and Balinor looked down not being able to look at the spirited girl. She was always a smart one. They both realized how it looked. Two warring countries conspiring with each other while the people believed they were sworn enemies, but this was far more important than any war. The whole world could be at stake if they didn't get this right.

Finally Uther looked up at his daughter to find her giving him a look of disbelief and...disappointment, almost cutting him to the bone. She hated disappointing her, especially after everything she's been through. But he maintained his hard exterior when he answered her "We need to keep up appearances. The war will end soon enough but it cannot happen until we retrieve that stone. But that will have to be sorted after the match tomorrow. If it is canceled, _he_will think something is wrong"

"He?"

"Cenred, he runs the organization. Not many people have seen him before and if they have, he's made sure they haven't lived to tell anyone about it. While ruthless he is quite cunning and he would know something was the matter if anything were to change." Uther explained.

"So what do we do?" The blonde prince asked still slightly confused about everything.

"We continue as scheduled. The match will happen as normal, and after that, we will discuss a plan of action to deal with the stone. Meanwhile, we will try to find the traitor, but everyone must proceed as if nothing has happened. We cannot give the guilty party a reason to suspect us."

Morgana and Arthur nodded and left as did everyone else. Arthur had pulled Gwen off to somewhere while Morgana did the same to Merlin, although it would be considered more like dragging.

When they finally found someplace secluded she threw up against her bedroom wall.

"Alright what the hell is going on here!" it was kind of a mix between a yell and whisper but that only made it all the more menacing.

"I'm sorry I lied to you even though I didn't really lie I just didn't tell you the other reason for me coming here but I swear meeting you was totally by chance even though I didn't know who you were, well I knew that Arthur had a sister I just didn't-"

"Merlin!"

"Sorry okay how bout I start from the beginning?"

"Yes I would like that."

Sighing, he led them over to the small couch across from her fireplace and sat them down. Looking straight into her eyes, he began.

"In ancient times, magic was only practiced by the gods. A secret art coveted and known by only a privileged few. But sometime during then, man became greedy and lusted after magic, trying to manufacture their own kind. And that was how alchemy was born. Over time, alchemy became a widely known practice and many people used it, but many people died from it as well. Through the generations, people learned from their mistakes and alchemy became something only practiced by people who were born with the power."

"But what about you, why isn't your power considered alchemy since you were born with it?"

"Magic and alchemy, though closely related, are on two different wave lengths. Some are born with alchemy wave lengths and some are born with magic wave lengths. I am the latter, what is known as a warlock. A girl is considered a witch but they are more them uncommon, even though there are two in this very building."

Morgana furrowed her brow "Morgause and Elaine?"

He nodded "Your sister's got it from their fathers side which is why I assume you don't have it, and then there are Seer's"

"Seer's?"

He nodded again "People who have the ability to see the future. It is a very coveted gift and there are very few in existence, but their magic is powerful."

"So a warlock, a witch, and a Seer all use magic instead of alchemy?"

"Yes. But they are not able to use pure magic. That is what the stone is for. Only the gods were able to use pure magic without the repercussion. When the gods would come to earth, they would mate with humans, embedding the magic in their bloodlines, but it wasn't pure. While they can live longer then alchemists, magic still has harmful effects because it calls on a person's life energy to use the power. Alchemy is a fake version of magic embedded in other bloodlines that uses far more life energy then magic does. Occasionally the bloodlines mix but that almost never happens, and if it does the baby dies before it has a chance to live. Nature's way of redemption I suppose."'

"That's so sad." Merlin could only shrug while she continued "Wait so that's like blue bloods and commoners. They are almost never allowed to mate. Wow that sound slightly..."

"Primeval?"

"Yeah, 'mating' and such, so I suppose alchemy and magic is like inbreeding?"

"Yes precisely, the magic in the bloodlines would overcharge the child and kill it _and_the mother. It's a sad fate but, what can you do?"'

"Natures a bitch"

Laughing he agreed.

"Hey so does that mean that you're like a god?" She asked a little more teasing then he would like.

He was slightly unnerved by the hungry looks she was giving him and decided to answer before she got any ideas, "No no I'm defiantly not a god, all human, although some people have told me otherwise."'

"What do you mean?"

"Well because of my...abilities I'm able to use more of my brains functions, but not enough to kill me. Little things like… I'm slightly a genius." Seeing her giving him a questioning look he explained. "I'm an expert biochemistry, molecular biology, and arithmetic. Plus I'm a decent cook. But people have called me either a protégé or a freak since I graduated university at sixteen while I just think I'm clever."

To his surprise Morgana stared at him blank faced. Most people when he told them about his academic record either called him a geek or were impressed but she looked neither. Actually she seemed rather unimpressed.

"People called you a freak for that? Just shows you how un-special they are, but really being an expert in those subjects shouldn't be cause for thinking someone was odd. I could've graduated university a year early but I decided to stay back with Arthur and Gwen."

"Really?" he gave her a suspicions look. "What did you major in?"

"Well I majored in political science and modern languages, for obvious reasons, but I also minored in theoretical physics and calculus"

Merlin starred at her wide eyed. Out of all things she never expected her to be a math wiz too, and on top of that she was gorgeous. The gods must have been smiling down on him. Shaking his head back to reality when she noticed the weird looks she was giving him, he decided to ask her a few questions. "So why those two majors, you don't seem like the type of girl who would do what her father wanted?"

"Well it was really to help him. The political science field only seemed logical because, even if I wasn't going to take the thrown, I still should know how to handle myself in that type of lifestyle, especially since I'm the one that handles most of my father's foreign affairs."

"You? Doesn't he have translators and other people for that?"

She shrugged nonchalantly "He doesn't need them, he's got me. Currently I know about seven languages fluently, but I'm learning how to perfect another four."

Merlin didn't think his eyes could get any bigger as he stared at the woman in front of him. She honestly had to be the most modest person he had ever met, and the most accomplished. But wait, was it possible for someone without magic or alchemy to be able to be that gifted academically. It was unlikely but not unheard of. She couldn't have magic _that _was impossible, right? Uther would never allow one of his children to be a magic user. Even if Vivienne was her mother, it was highly unlikely that she received any magical genes. Though the LeFay household has had generations of Seer's in the past, there hasn't been a Seer in that family for almost a hundred years. Plus, he could tell if she had magic, he would be able to see it radiating off her in waves. But he didn't sense anything from her not even a spark. Although there was a connection, an undeniable connection that he couldn't quite place and couldn't quite grasp but it was there, he could feel it and she knew he felt it too.

And how did she have time to do all that and still have a social life, or did she? she must have, look at her. A woman like that without a social life would be impossible. But how did she do it? Deciding to voice his concerns "How do you manage to do all that?"

"Well I pick up languages really quickly by reading a lot, I love to read. It was the only thing I was allowed to do when I was younger. My father considered it something a proper young lady should do but that never stopped me from rebelling, landing me in more punishment then I could count, hence the time for reading. I have to admit it did get harder as I got older, with me featuring in several performances it does sometimes become hard to juggle everything, but I manage somehow."

"Performances?" and when did he become the one doing the one word questions.

She nodded "I feature in certain ballets every once in a while, but that's only when I get bored, or the director begs me to be in it."

"Right so let me get this strait, you are a princess who knows several different languages with a background in mathematics who is _featured_in ballets on the side?"

"Yep"

"And you still have time for friends?" he said with a raised eyebrow

"Yeah, not as much as I'd like but Gwen's always there to keep me company. And Arthur on occasion when he's not annoying me to death. But I spend time with them during the shows and jobs and such.

"Jobs?"

"Yeah, sometimes during a show people ask me to model for things like… this" she reached behind herself and grabbed a TATLER magazine with her posing on the cover.

Merlin's mouth literally dropped to the floor. Was _she_human? Well obviously, but she could also be some type of mutant goddess or something like that.

As he stared at it mesmerized as she continued "Although not as much as I needed to apparently." he lifted his head up at the sudden harshness in her voice and looked at her incredulously. Noticing this she reluctantly answered his unanswered question "My ex-boyfriend cheated on me because he said I wasn't being a better girlfriend and not spending enough time with him. I mean granted I have been really busy lately but I thought I was putting enough time aside for him, obviously not" she gave a mirthless laugh and turned back to him to find him staring at her like she was insane.

After a brief pause, he pursed his lips "So was your ex like, mentally unstable or something along those lines because I feel like he'd have to be to even consider cheating on someone like you"

She couldn't hide the blush forming on her cheeks so she just looked down rather bashfully, when had a guys ever made her do _that_before? Merlin was always surprising her.

"Well thank you, I'm glad that jerk is out of my life forever. I just don't know if I'll be able to open my heart up ever again."

"Hey, if a guy really cares about you, he'll wait for you, until the end of time if that's how long it takes" he declared calmly putting his hand on hers.

It was small, but this little gesture sent a shock throughout her entire body. How was he affecting her like this? She had never felt this way about anyone before. Merlin was so different, and so much like her. A royal, academically gifted, pretty much the same friends even though they've never meet before. Any why was that? According to Arthur _and_ Gwen he was rather close with the couple. She supposed it was because they kept missing each other, plus there was, you know, the war! But they knew each other now. And she was glad to have met him. She just wish she had before that bastard Alvar ever came into her life and ruined her idea of a good guy, putting her off men for a while. But for Merlin, she could make an acceptation.

After a long moment of comfortable silence he broke it with a loud sigh "Well, it's late, I should probably go. I have to get up early to kick your brothers arse tomorrow." And began moving to get up

"Do you really have to go?" she asked a little pleadingly.

He stopped and turned to her, seriously considering staying but after a long debate with his imaginary devil/angel guys on his shoulder he shook his head in affirmation. She walked him to the door and opened it for him, but as he walked out he stopped and turned to grab her hand and place a light kiss on the top of it.

"Goodnight, milady"

Morgana honestly felt like she was about to die. Doing everything in her power to hold in the yelp, he gently let go of her hand (much to her dismay) and departed down the hallway with her watching until he was out of sight. After he was safely out of earshot she slammed the door shut and jumped on her bed, squealing into her pillow like there was no tomorrow with a wide smile spread across her face.

Merlin was perfect. He was kind and sweet and smart and handsome and a gentlemen and so _so _cute she just wanted to nibble on those ears until they went numb. With his high cheekbones and gorgeous blue eyes with little gold specks in them, it was incredible how she didn't get lost in them every time she looked at him. He was literally the ideal man and they had so much in common. In all the time they spent together they never once ran out of things to talk about. It was strange the connection she felt with him. Stronger than anything she had ever felt before, and it made her a mix of uneasy and excited. Merlin was new and fun and for the first time in a long time she could see a future with him. If anyone would understand he would. He was just like her. He had to understand. She needed someone to understand. Holding this in for so long had been torture. Throughout her entire life she had never been able to tell anyone about it, but now she could. And she would. Because if she kept this in any longer, she felt like she would explode.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for this update. These past few weeks have been only what you could describe as hell. Plus there was this lovely thing called finals. You know that evil thing that the school system does to make your life miserable so you have no time to do anything else but study. I really do hate school it's not fun. But I have finished my last final today and I'm starting the new chap tomorrow so hopefully I'll have something up by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. **

**Please please please please please please please please please please please review. :3**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: sorry for the long update on this chapter. I've been working on like four different stories right now and its somewhat hard to juggle all of them. Ya I figured it was bad to start them when I don't have the time to finish them but it really can't be helped. :( anyway I wanted to take this time to respond to the people that reviewed my last chapter, btw I love you guys. **

**doctor-emily001: You know I actually added the whole harry potter flashback after I read your review so thank you for that. On the Doctor Who note, I totally guessed that River and the Doctor were together and your right I LOVED rose with ten/nine mostly ten because they were like made for each other and she was my favorite companion…besides Donna. It is going to be **_**torture**_** waiting till September but I can't wait. "Let's Kill Hitler" But anyway, it's cool reading Doctor Who fanfics but just remember to read mine I loved Vampire Knight, Yuki and Zero, like I would marry him. Thanks for your review. **

**Seillean: You know I hadn't realized that until you said it bit ur right… Oh well, I think it would be weird if I went and changed it now but thanks for ur review. Hope you like this next chapter. **

**Elin Marc: I would just like to say that I love you. Really, I do 3 -look there's a heart and everything **

**Choralreif: Thank you and on the Morgana thing it will be made pretty clear in this chapter. **

The next morning came a little too soon for Morgana's liking. This was the final match of the cup and after it was over, Merlin would go back to Ireland. As the sunlight peaked through the curtains she squinted at its brightness.

"Really Morgana, you really should be better about getting up on time" Gwen called from the end of her bed.

She looked up at her friend for a moment and then slumped back down onto her pillow, "Gwen, I don't need to get up on time, everyone will just have to wait for me."

"Spoken like a true princess, come on get up! You don't want to miss Merlin's last match do you?" Gwen cooed.

Morgana's eyes shot open and she practically jumped out of bed causing Gwen to jump back in surprise.

"Wow Morgana, I've never seen you this excited before" she mused with a knowing look. Considering that the majority of guys that her friend dated were either disposable or jerks, it was rather surprising that she would be interested in a guy like Merlin.

"I...like football" the blush that was rising to her cheeks as she walked into her closet did not go unnoticed by her friend.

"Really..."

"Yes really, now help me pick out what to wear. There's my green BCBG dress and J. Crew top with leggings and that other dress that I got at the spring fashion show and then what about shoes oh and should I wear a sweater, do you think he'll like a sweater?-"

"Morgana!" Gwen yelled trying to stop her friends nervous ranting, "I'm sure whatever you wear he will like just the same. Just, don't wear anything too...distracting, he still has to focus on the game you know." She winked knowing how Morgana was with men she liked. "Now come on, choose something quickly, the match is in three hours."

Later that day Arthur met Merlin in the locker room for some...male bonding.

"I will beat you this time you know, last time was just a fluke" Arthur gloated over his mate/rival. In their last match Merlin had scored the winning goal with twenty seconds left in the game. Arthur had been furious and swore that it would never happen again. He got his competitive nature from his father.

Merlin just rolled his eyes "Whatever you say Arthur" as he put on his uniform with the Irish crest imprinted over his heart.

Arthur and everyone else had already changed and were running a few drills before Merlin had gotten there. The Irish prince had been late because of a discussion he needed to have with his uncle, confirming his suspicions. From what Gaius had told him, no one else knew. But that was most likely going to change very soon. Especially with everything that has been going on recently. The truth is bound to come out sooner or later, and he needed to do something before that happened.

*beep* beep* Merlin's mobile got a text and _Morgana _appeared of the screen.

_Hey, Good Luck today. Don't tell Arthur this, but I'm cheering for you ;)-morgana_

Merlin smiled and typed in a response:

_Thanks, I'll see you after the match-merlin_

He then put it away before getting on the rest of his gear.

The blond prince eyed his reaction to his sister's text "So… you've been spending a lot of time with my sister lately" Arthur said casually with just a smidge of a threatening tone in his voice.

"Ugh, not you too" Merlin shook his head. Why did everyone want to know about his relationship with her, they were friends...sort of. Why did everyone have to make such a big deal about it? "Look Arthur we're friends, that's it."

"Really?" he gave him a disbelieving look with the raised eyebrow and everything. It was clear he was not convinced.

"Really"

Arthur let out a big breath "Well, don't tell her that"

"What do you mean?"

"Merlin, I know my sister. And the way she's been eyeing you..."

"What?"

Putting his hand on the other man's shoulder "Let's just say that it won't be long before she does more than just looking..."

Merlin's eyes widened "Do you really thing she likes me?" He wasn't really sure about Morgana's feelings for him. Yeah she had been flirting with him a lot and they do talk ever ten minutes but he had met a billion other girls who did the same thing, and all they wanted was to use him for his title. But if she really liked him then...

"Yes she likes you. Although I have to admit I'm a bit surprised. She's never gone for a guy like you."

Now it was Merlin's turn to raise an eyebrow "A guy like me?"

"Well yeah, you know" Arthur was gesturing at air, trying to convey what he meant without it sounding bad but let's face it, he is Arthur. "A guy with more...brains then brawn."

"Hmm and who beat who last time?"

Arthur let out an exasperated breath and rolled his eyes, "What I mean is, I'm glad she's going out with you and not another boneless wanker,"

Merlin laughed and gave a small smirk, "Yeah, I heard about her last boyfriend, he was a real tosser"

"He was, and I was about ready to clobber him, but Morgana said that it wouldn't look good if the Crown Prince went around hitting people,"

The Irish prince tilted his head in consideration "That is very true, but I would've done it anyway,"

The two men laughed and began to head out to the pitch, "Oh and we're not going out" Merlin called after Arthur.

"Sure you're not."

The stadium was packed. Irish fans covered half the audience holding up the green, white, and orange of the nation's flag. The other half was filled with English fans, the famous red and blue smearing their bodies. It was going to be a hell of a game. At least three different stations were covering this match, and news crews were strategically placed all around the pitch.

The Irish and English royal families (with some exceptions) were in the royal boxes that looked out over the field. The match was about to begin, and Morgana was staring down at her brother and Merlin coming to the middle of the field to see who would start.

She saw Merlin and Arthur turn their heads to look at them and Morgana and Gwen both waved back at their respective footballer. I'll let you guys guess who's was to who. After that slight interruption the boys turned back to each other with knowing looks before the ref flipped the coin. Arthur called heads so it was his ball. The two then shook.

"Don't hit your face too hard when you trip" Arthur teased

"You either, don't want you crying on me" Merlin retorted. Arthur scowled at his insinuation. Apparently Morgana decided to tell him _all_ of his embarrassing moments of childhood, and the sod had been on him about them non-stop since. Those two had really been spending _way_ too much time together.

The timer buzzed and the match began.

Morgana had never been so nervous about anything in her entire life, and that was saying something. She was clenching Gwen's hand, who was as anxious as herself (only for a different person). The first half had gone by pretty quickly and the score was tied at zero. The two teams were in the locker rooms and halftime was around fifteen minutes so Morgana had decided to take this time to pay Merlin a little visit.

He had sent her a text to meet him, and after sneaking out of the box and away from the camera crews, Morgana went to meet Merlin in one of the various alcoves on the underside of the stands. She had texted she was there and was waiting for him in the shadows like every good little stalker.

"Morgana? Morgana?" he whisper-yelled so hopefully no one would notice them. It would probably be bad if any of the various news people that were covering this match found the English captains sister talking to the opposing teams' captain in a dark alcove during halftime.

Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and pulled him into one of the alcoves he was passing.

"Hello" Morgana's voice teased in his ear as the Princess stood in front of him, still holding on to his arm and looking up at him through emerald green eyes.

Merlin let out a breath, "Morgana, you could've given me a heart attack," he chided putting a hand on his chest to steady his breathing.

"I'm sorry" her smile was captivating and he found himself smiling too. "Didn't mean to scare you, how are you doing?"

"Fine, you're brothers pretty tough though."

"Aw you can beat him."

Biting her lip Morgana looked him up and down. His jersey was sticking to him like glue and she could now clearly see how muscular he really was. And for this moment she had never liked football more then she had right now.

Noticing this, Merlin coughed awkwardly to gain her attention. He had to ask her. It was really the only reason he asked to meet her, other than the obvious. And it was far too important to wait.

"Hey, Morgana?" he began, choosing his word very carefully. This was a delicate topic and if he said this wrong, he could, not only loose her forever, but be back at war with England. Even though that was highly unlikely, but he was not willing to take that chance.

"Yeah?" she cocked her head in a rather adorable manner that momentarily made him forget what he wanted to say.

After a moment of composing himself, "So yesterday, when you were telling me about you're…accomplishments," He paused so she would hopefully follow where this was going.

"Yeah" she nodded her head, urging him to continue now noticing the seriousness on his face.

Sighing, "Well all those…abilities, it got me thinking, and I was just wondering if anything had…happened to you, recently, or-or growing up?"

"Happened to me" she repeated slowly, not really understanding what he was talking about.

"Yeah" he looked around trying to find some way to explain this, and it's not like he could just come right out and say it. God, why did she have to be the_ English_ Princess? Why couldn't she just be a waitress like everyone else?

"Like, has anything ever…happened to you, like things that you couldn't understand or, or couldn't explain?"

She looked at him incredulously still not following along, finally fed up with his delicate manner she said "Merlin, why don't you just say what you're trying to ask me?"

Oh screw it, it's not like he hasn't embarrassed himself enough already. Letting out and annoyed grunt he decided that the best thing to do was to just dive right in to it. And hey what's the worst that could happen? Wow, that was a stupid question.

With his eyes never leaving hers he bluntly asked "Alright, have you ever had nightmares, ones that miraculously come true?"

Her widened eyes and scared expression were confirmation enough but he still wanted to give her a chance to answer. This was kind of huge because she had obviously not told anyone about this before. And if he was the first one to find out, then the others were most likely to follow.

A minute had gone by and she still hadn't said anything but just as she was opening her mouth to say something the buzzer rang, indicating halftime was over. He could hear his teammates down the hall cheering and he knew he would have to rejoin them, but he just didn't want to leave her like this.

Then her grip on his arm tightened as she whispered into his ear "Don't tell anyone,"

Even though her voice was a whisper, it was strained and frightened. This was clearly not something she was expecting and to have to expose something she had kept hidden for so long must have been terrifying. But giving her a reassuring smile, he replied,

"I won't I swear, we'll talk after the match, okay?"

She nodded tearfully and wiped her eyes that were beginning to well up. Seeing her like that, he was still reluctant to leave her, but if he didn't get out to the field soon, people would know something was up.

That was when she went on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek and whisper "Good luck" before scurrying out of the alcove and back to the box, leaving a bright red lipstick mark and a stunned Merlin in her wake.

Merlin stood there for a moment going over what had just happened and replaying it about several times. Finally after he collected himself he ran out to the field with a bright smile spread across his face.

The second half was just beginning as Morgana got back to the box. She sat down and replayed the conversation over and over in her head until it was branded there. So Merlin knew her secret. Well that was twenty five years of her life wasted. But he did promise he wouldn't tell anyone. And he was surprisingly understanding about the whole thing. In fact, it almost seemed he like wanted _her_ to tell _him_, like he already knew. But how was that possible? Unless… Oh no, someone else knew. But who could know, she never told _anyone_, not even Gwen.

She had known her nightmares weren't just nightmares when she was twelve and she had a dream Arthur would break his leg. The next day her brother ended up with a cast on his foot after failing a trick that he had been practicing. She knew it had to be magic, what else could it be? And things got worse when she got older. Whenever she had been upset or angry or scared, things would tend to explode or break all on their own. That's why she made sure to be able to control her emotions or at least steer clear of everyone when she was in a mood.

She had also made sure to not get angry around her father. He couldn't find out she had magic. He was so proud of her for being who she was. For having so many accomplishments without the special additive of magic, and at first she didn't even know it was magic. All she knew was that she was special. But the dark realization had finally hit her when she was fifteen and conjured a ball of fire in her hand. She put it out in seconds and thankfully she was in her room so no one had seen it but it confirmed a fear that she had been harboring for years.

She had magic. And now someone knew.

But wait, he had magic too, didn't he. Wouldn't he be the most understanding about her situation? Hell, he could even teach her to control it. But wait, didn't that mean she was doing alchemy. After she did every one of her tantrums that ended in something catching on fire, she did feel somewhat tired and she would get a really bad migraine. But the nightmares were never draining. And she had them much more frequently, almost every night. She had a lot of questions, and now she had someone to answer them. She should consider this as a good thing.

"Where were you Morgana?"

Her father's voice started her out of her thoughts and she whirled around to face him.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you" She found it somewhat ironic that her own words were getting repeated to her but his fatherly smile gave her a little reassurance.

"I just went to get some fresh air"

"Headaches again?"

Morgana had chronic headaches throughout her life. While they weren't serious, she had gone to many doctors to treat them. She had always considered them to be a hormonal thing or maybe even stress related, but after hearing about alchemy, she wasn't so sure anymore.

Nodding her head, she turned her attention back to the pitch. She thought it was better if she interacted with her father as little as possible, at least until she figured everything out.

She began focusing on Merlin, who was racing down the pitch with the ball when out of nowhere; he was clipped by one of Arthur's mates. Valiant, she had unfortunately dated him for a grand total of two days, before she realized what a tosser her was. But when she was him slam into _her_ man (okay when did she start calling him that) she wanted to flay the guy alive. Valiant had hit Merlin with the same amount of force as a truck because he went flying and tumbled about four feely from where he had been previously.

Morgana shot out of her seat to get a better look. Everyone gasped as he lay, unmoving on the ground for what she could swear was the longest moment of her life before she saw the slight movement of him rolling over onto his back before Gwaine lifted him to his feet. The crowd cheered when they saw that he was okay and she let out a relieved breath. Morgana looked over to her brother to find him screaming at Valiant for his stupidity. The ref called the tackle a foul and now Merlin had free shot at the net. Everything was silent as he positioned himself and pulled his leg back to take the shot-

Suddenly a huge energy ball descended onto the pitch and was heading straight for Merlin. On instinct he jumped out of the way leaving a crater in its place while the stadium erupted in screams and people ran toward the exits. Balls of light shot out everywhere, seeming to have no specific target as they hit random portions of the pitch and the stands. Everyone ran for cover while Merlin ripped off his band and began directing the balls of light upwards. That was when the hooded figured began to appear everywhere and seemed to be the source for the chaos.

The royal guards quickly took action as Morgana surveyed what was going on. Then she felt a tug on her arm as someone tried pulling her away but she shrugged them off, still mesmerized by Merlin's magic.

The same person then grabbed her arm but harder this time and she turned to yell at them when she saw it was her father. He stared at her with pleading eyes, though she could see the searing anger coursing through them as well. This was certainly reinforcing the whole 'magic is bad' thing. She reluctantly nodded and followed her father out of the stadium. They all shuffled into the cars and took off for the palace.

Uther blew open his office doors, storming in with Morgana, Morgause, Elaine, Gwen, Balinor, and Gaius following behind him. Balinor had insisted he talk to the king, much to Morgause and Elaine's protests because Uther was defiantly in an anti-magic mood at the moment, but this was far more serious than their magical feud. And there was a good possibility that Cenred was most likely behind this attack.

Uther's advisors were already waiting for them including one of Uther's favorite, Aeridian. He gave Morgana the creeps ever since she was little. He was also one of the main people that advised Uther into the war with Ireland. Morgana really disliked the man.

"I wanna know WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE!" Uther boomed glaring at Balinor. While it was obvious none of the Irish royal family would ever do something this idiotic, Uther still had to take his frustration out on someone.

"Sire" Aeridian chimed in his slimy toad-like voice "It seems that one of the men part of the attack was captured and had the Irish crest tattooed onto his skin" he said sending an accusatory glare at Balinor.

"This was not my doing Uther, and you know exactly who was" Balinor stated holding his ground but Uther simply ignore his previous comment.

"I knew it was a bad idea to invite you people here" The king snarled "'magic is a disreputable practice. I want you out of my kingdom!" he declared jabbing his finger at Balinor.

"Father please, try and see sense" Morgana pleaded but her father was too far over the edge to listen.

"Morgana, I don't want to hear it" he yelled back.

Just then Merlin and Arthur entered the room.

"YOU" Uther growled at Merlin, looking at him through red eyes. He stomped over to the young man and grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"Father, stop it!" Morgana screamed, and through all the commotion no noticed the gun that was being aimed and the raging king.

Out of the corner of her eye Morgana saw the black piece of metal of being aimed right at her father. Everything was so fast and yet seemed so slow.

"Father!"

All the windows in the room shattered and rained down like sparkling snowflakes. And everyone just stood frozen staring wide eyed at a petrified Morgana.

"No..."


	7. Chapter 7

She was amazed at how quickly things could change. Amazed at how quickly her life could just…fall apart.

Was it fate? One of those predestined events that were completely inevitable. A part of the plan that the Powers that Be had laid out for her, maybe, maybe not? There really is no way to understand why certain events occur. Some things just happen. Especially in her case.

Life sucks. It's tough but true. Throughout our lives we are given specific things that we don't think we can get through. But somehow we do. One way or another, we survive. And that's really all anyone can try and do, survive. Although she didn't thing she could survive this.

And she had always been so careful too. When she first found out she had magic, she kept to herself for a while. Being so meticulous about her emotions and controlling them. And at her age, it was not the easiest thing in the world. I mean really, who can honestly expect a ten year old to deal with something as big as that. Though she thought she did it rather well. While she had realized that there were probably some people that had their suspicions, she had been able to successfully not display her abilities in public, or at least not so that anyone noticed. And even if they did, the thought of her, Morgana, freaking Princess of England, having magic was just so outrageous that it was ignored or thought to be a trick of the mind.

But this was no trick.

This was something that she couldn't deny, couldn't lie her way out of. This was the end of everything. And in a way she was somewhat relieved. Now she didn't have to feel the guilt that came with all the lies. She didn't have to hide anything anymore. They all knew now…everyone knew now. And on some level, she was okay with that.

Until she heard her bedroom door open.

Uther Pendragon sat at his desk with his head in his hands surrounded by Gaius, Morgause, and Balinor, contemplating what to do. Because one thing he had always feared turned out to be true.

His daughter had magic.

When she was younger, Igraine had convinced him otherwise, saying that he didn't need to worry, that she hadn't inherited those powers, that she would be safe. But she was far from safe.

"What are you going to do?" Morgause asked somewhat spitefully. She knew all too well how Uther could be in terms of magic and was not keen on her sister experiencing that personally.

"I…don't know" Uther replied somewhat weakly with his head still in his hands.

"You don't know, or you do know and you just don't want me to kill you once you've announced your decision"

"Do you think this is easy for me!" Uther bellowed as he shot his head up "she is my daughter-"

"Exactly, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does, that's why this is so hard" Uther growled as he slumped back down into his chair

"Sire" Gaius chimed in "may I?"

"Of course Gaius, you are my oldest friend" Uther replied quickly, anxious for is friends advice

"Did you not know about Morgana's gifts? I mean her mother and step mother both possessed the Sight, and yet you did not suspect."

Uther sighed before answering "When Morgana first began having nightmares I did think…maybe. But Igraine had deterred me from the idea, claiming that they were just night terrors typical for a child and that I had nothing to fear. Now I believe that my wife had lied to me"

"Really? What could possibly have given you _that_ idea?" Morgause's snide comment was rewarded by a death glare from Uther

"Now that her powers are known, things may become…complicated for her." Gaius stated reluctantly

Uther nodded in agreement "I'm scared of what the people would say if they find out. I love Morgana more than anything, and I couldn't stand if anything happened to her too." There was a long pause as Uther contemplated his options.

Finally he spoke, looking to the other king with pleading eyes "Balinor, could I ask a favor of you?" Balinor nodded hesitantly. "Neither Igraine nor Vivienne ever knew how to control their powers, to stop what was happening to them before it was too late, maybe, if she is trained, instructed how to control the Sight, then…" Uther trailed off before he could finish the sentence "but she cannot receive such training in England."

"Sire what are you suggesting?" Gaius asked somewhat apprehensively, but already knew the answer.

"Could I ask…would it be alright if Morgana were allowed to stay in Ireland for a while"

There was an uproar from everyone in the room but eventually Balinor's voice won out "Uther are you sure about this? Would she not be safer under the protection of her own family?"

Uther shook hi s head "if she were to stay here, she would be discovered. It's really only a matter of time and the press will most likely an extensive search into what happened this afternoon. The best option for her is to be as far away from this chaos as possible. I do not ask this favor lightly"

Balinor nodded "she will be safe within my care. I will make sure that she is well protected, and I'm sure Hunith would like to see her as well. Plus, Merlin seems to have taken a liking to her as well, he will assist in her training"

Uther gave a small smile and nodded, then turned to Morgause "I'm assuming you interrogated the man, what were the results?"

"The man was a hired gun" Morgause replied shortly, still a bit cross. "He said that he was texted the information needed and given a million dollars to complete the task, but whomever gave him the information was very well connected, probably the same person who had broken into the vault."

"So we have nothing?" Uther cut in, and Morgause glared at him.

"I can't be certain but it is very possible that he was hired by my previous employer, that man always was one to take rash, irrational action with seemingly no purpose."

"But why would they try and kill me. If they were looking for the stone, why would they try an attempt on my life, out of convenience?" Uther asked, confused.

"You have upset a lot of people over the years Uther, there are many who would gladly see you dead. Him especially" Morgause mentioned with and eerily casual tone.

Uther simply nodded, he truly did not wish to acknowledge it but the woman did have a point. There were plenty of reasons why someone would wish him dead, and that man was no exception "well that's even more of a reason why Morgana needs to go. She is no longer safe here."

There was a pause before Morgause finally spoke again, "what will you tell her?"

Uther sighed and leaned back into his chair, picking up the photo of Morgana and Arthur as children on his desk and running his fingers over Morgana's smiling face, "whatever I have to, to keep her safe"

Though they had their differences, the one thing Morgause and Uther always agreed upon was that Morgana needed to be protected, no matter what the cost. So after a firm nod, the blonde headed toward the door,

"Wait"

Morgause stopped and turned back to Uther, waiting for him to continue.

"I should be the one to tell her," she with that the King slowly got out of his chair, appearing much older than he was, and headed in the direction of Morgana's rooms.

Hovering his hand above the handle of the door, Uther hesitated, not really sure what was going to tell her. This wasn't something that he could outright declare and expect everything to fall in order. This was Morgana, and she deserved the best that he could offer.

So with a deep breath, he turned the handle.

Morgana's heart nearly stopped when she heard the creek of her bedroom doors open, alerting her to the presence of another person. She didn't even need to look up to know who it was, so she just stayed curled up in a little ball next to her vanity like she was ten years old again, waiting for the inevitable.

He didn't say anything at first, just let out a breath as he sat down beside her. It was completely silent and if a pin dropped outside her door she could most likely hear it with perfect clarity. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours before her shaky voice, barely above a whisper, penetrated the quiet.

"Do you hate me?"

Uther sighed and put his arm around his daughter, "Morgana, I could never hate you?"

Morgana let out a relieved breath but still did not look up from her knees that she had buried her face into, "then you're not going to have me imprisoned?" she asked fearfully.

"Of course not, but there are some things that we need to discuss. The first being, why didn't you tell me?" the king asked gently, as Morgana let out a shaky breath.

"I was scared, I thought…"

She allowed the sentence to trail off and he was slightly grateful that she wouldn't be able to see the hurt strewn across his face.

There was another deafening silence before Uther spoke, this time in a more authoritative voice, "I've arranged for you to get out of England-"

"No!" Morgana shot up from her knees and looked at her father with a horrified expression, "please don't send me away, I-I promise that won't ever happen again I'll make sure of it just please-"

"Morgana, _Morgana_" Uther stated, "I am doing this for your own safety. You need to learn to control your powers so I've asked Balinor to allow you to stay in Ireland. Just until you can get a handle on everything" he explained, trying to reassure her "Morgause and Elaine will both be there for you and as soon as they think you're ready you can come home"

Tears flooded her face as her body racked with sobs as her father tightened his embrace on her, finally she allowed herself to cry into his chest.

"It's for the best, I promise" he declared

Morgana didn't know what to do anymore. One moment, everything was alright. Morgause and Elaine were visiting, father was being less of an overbearing parent than usual, Arthur was gradually becoming more and more tolerable via Gwen, and Merlin…

God, Merlin. They had known each other for a grand total of three weeks, barely enough to qualify friendship. And now suddenly she's hopping on a plane with him back to Ireland. Instead of planning for Gwen's wedding and rehearsing for her next show, she was forced to spend the next couple of months with a man she only just began to know.

It was a lot to adjust to in such a short amount of time, but she would have to do it now and she would have to do it fast because as she watched the clouds pass through the window of the plane, the foreboding feeling that she got when she first stepped on the plane was getting bigger and bigger the higher the plane went.

"Morgana, are you hungry?"

A man's voice broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Merlin, gazing down at her with concern etched into his features.

Morgana shook her head slowly, attempting to go back to the window when he spoke again.

"I know this is all happening very fast and I can't imagine what you're going through" he started, reaching over to take her hand so she would look at him, "but not eating won't solve your problems. It will just make you look like a gross looking skeleton or like those hairless cats you see on Animal Planet"

A smile tugged at her lips without her consent and Merlin squeezed her hand lightly, "Is that a smile I see?" Pulling lightly at her wrist, Morgana looked up and their eyes locked together, speaking with as much sincerity and conviction as possible, he said, "Things will get better, I swear it"

Morgana nodded reluctantly and went back to staring out the window, she was in for a very difficult couple of days, but with Merlin there…she couldn't help but think that maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

**A/N: so I don't really know why I made Uther so OC, or Morgause for that matter but I guess I kind of liked the idea of him not being a heartless monster and doing everything for her own good. Plus I made Igraine have magic, just in case you didn't catch that, which will become a very important bit later on in the story.**

**But any way, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it.**


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